Chapter 35: On the Importance of Savings

"God-Arrow Peak's Yi Archery!?"

"But the power of this shot seems... lackluster..."

The woman in white frowned, puzzled. Setting aside the terrifying figure from her memories, even the disciple of that old man was far more skilled than this.

"Could it be that God-Arrow Peak has taken on another apprentice?"

The entry requirements for God-Arrow Peak's Yi Archery were notoriously difficult. Currently, there were only two people on the entire peak: the current master, Li Changfeng, and his disciple, Li Changhen.

"Regardless, I must leave at once!"

The woman in white dared not delay and fled immediately. She was no match for Li Changfeng, and even Li Changhen was far beyond her capabilities. She had no intention of gambling her life on whether she would be recognized if caught.

*Huff... puff...*

Zhou Chen gasped heavily, his body drained of all strength, as if he had been hollowed out. He collapsed backward, landing hard on the ground. The thought of that terrifying nunnery left him with lingering fear; a chill ran down his spine, as if cold, ghostly fingers were tracing his vertebrae, making his scalp crawl.

He forced himself to overcome his terror and looked up, only to find the nunnery gone. Before him lay a forest, as if everything he had just experienced were merely an illusion. Yet, Zhou Chen knew it was real.

"Damn it all, that was truly terrifying!"

Zhou Chen turned his consciousness toward the Fengyue Mirror and discovered that Ji Fengxia had fainted, though she appeared to be unharmed. At the same time, Zhou Chen felt his control over the Fengyue Mirror had reached a new level. He seemed capable of storing items within the mirror’s space.

With this thought, he focused his mind, and the storage pouch in his hand vanished into the mirror’s space. However, his vision blurred, and he nearly fainted. The exertion had been so great that he was practically overdrawn.

"It seems this is linked to my strength or soul power."

Confirming he could store items in the mirror provided some comfort; he now effectively possessed a concealed storage artifact. Catching his breath, Zhou Chen leaned on his long saber and slowly retreated; he dared not venture forward any further.

"It’s getting dark. I must return before nightfall, or there’s no telling what I might encounter!"

Anxiety gnawed at him, but he was physically exhausted and lacked any Fengyue Points.

"This won't do. At this rate, I’ll never make it out of the forest."

He sat down in a clearing, projected his soul into the Fengyue Mirror’s space, and picked up the unconscious Ji Fengxia. He would have to make do with her for now.

Ji Fengxia: *How miserable!*

Upon entering Ji Fengxia’s boudoir, Zhou Chen felt his entire soul clarify, and his mental exhaustion rapidly dissipated. His eyes lit up—it seemed the Fengyue Mirror was incredibly useful for his recovery.

[Fengyue Points +1]
[Fengyue Points +1]
...

Zhou Chen immediately applied them to his Yi Archery. As several points were added, he felt his physical strength recover significantly. With his soul recovering well within the mirror, he immediately split a wisp of his consciousness to control his body, moving swiftly down the mountain.

By multitasking, his Fengyue Points continued to climb. As he spent them, his soul recovered further. Far from being exhausted, his speed increased, and his strength continued to return.

Half an hour later.

Night had fallen completely by the time Zhou Chen reached the gates of Qinghe City.

"Whew!"

He let out a long sigh, reflecting on how perilous the situation had been. "It's fortunate I spent the night at Zhang Long’s place and didn't use those two thousand Fengyue Points, or today would have been the end of me!"

He felt a secret sense of relief. Had he used those points earlier, while his strength might have increased slightly, it would not have been enough to escape such a great horror. He had survived only because of the point allocation, his breakthrough in the face of death, and the sudden realization of a killing move that allowed him to comprehend Arrow Intent.

"I must save up more Fengyue Points for emergencies from now on!"

Summarizing the lessons learned, he made a silent vow: "First, save two thousand—no, two thousand is too little to turn the tide. I’ll save five thousand. In the future, those five thousand will be untouchable capital, used only in dire situations to turn the tables and avert disaster."

Fengyue Points were like hard currency, and their utility was immense. Some might argue it was better to use them to boost strength directly, but many dangers couldn't be solved by a mere increment in power. For instance, being trapped in a formation—what difference did it make if one were at the third or fourth level of Body Tempering? Even the fifth or sixth level might be useless. But with Fengyue Points? He had a basic formation manual in the storage pouch of one of the cultivators he’d killed; he could spend points to master it and potentially break the formation. Or, if a powerful figure were to meet him, he might be exposed if his Breath Concealment Technique wasn't high enough. With points, he could instantly upgrade the technique and resolve the trouble.

The greatest advantage of saving points was the ability to apply them exactly where needed, allowing him to face sudden dangers with composure. After all, point allocation was instantaneous—it was his ultimate trump card. Without these savings, a hero could be brought to his knees by a single penny, or worse, lose his life. Just like today; had he not had those two thousand points in reserve, he might have been buried in that nunnery.

"Officer Zhou, are you alright?" The gate guard noticed Zhou Chen’s pale face, tattered clothes, and disheveled appearance, and hurried over to ask.

Zhou Chen waved him off and asked, "Has the County Lieutenant returned yet?"

"Not yet."

"Understood!"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Chen decided to head to the County Office first.

Moments later, he found Chen Fan, who looked anxious.

"Zhou Chen, what was the outcome? Where is Zhang Long?" Chen Fan rushed forward, grabbing Zhou Chen by the shoulders, staring into his eyes with nervous trepidation.

"My Lord, Miss Chen’s life is not in danger..." Zhou Chen said, carefully choosing his words.

Chen Fan relaxed for a split second before his brows furrowed deeply. Having served as a magistrate for years, how could he not understand the implication? Her life was not in danger, which meant something terrible had still occurred.

"The reinforcements you arranged were discovered. We launched a frontal assault on the stronghold and rescued Miss Chen, but she had already been violated by the bandits."

"The bandit leaders, Tie Xiong and Lu Xiao, escaped in the chaos. The Lieutenant and I split up to pursue them. I caught up to Lu Xiao and killed him, but then I encountered something... bizarre."

As he spoke, the lingering fear in Zhou Chen’s heart was genuine; the look of terror on his face was not feigned. "I ran for my life the whole way back, and by pure luck, I made it. As for the Lieutenant and the others, I have no idea what happened to them!"

Zhou Chen gave a brief report. Chen Fan took a deep breath, suppressing the grief in his heart, and patted Zhou Chen on the shoulder. "You’ve worked hard. I’ll give you seven days' leave. Go home and get some rest!"

"Thank you, my Lord!"

Zhou Chen took his leave and hurried away. He couldn't be bothered to worry about the aftermath; he just wanted to go home and get a good night's sleep.

"Brother Chen!"

When Qin Hongyu opened the door and saw Zhou Chen’s disheveled state, she was shocked, tears immediately welling up in her eyes. "Brother Chen, are you alright? Where are you hurt?"

"I'm fine!" Zhou Chen closed the door, led Qin Hongyu inside, and laughed, "I have no wounds; my clothes were just torn by branches!"

"I'll boil some water for your bath!"

Qin Hongyu quickly boiled a large pot of water. After tempering the temperature in the wooden tub, Zhou Chen went to the bathroom to wash. As the hot water splashed over his face, he took a deep breath, and the gloom in his heart dissipated significantly.

After a while, the water level dropped, and Qin Hongyu brought in another bucket of hot water. Looking at Zhou Chen’s robust, masculine frame, and seeing not a single scar on his jade-like skin, she finally felt at ease.

Qin Hongyu’s fair hands picked up a towel, gently wiping Zhou Chen’s back.

A moment later, Zhou Chen turned to look at her. Even though they had seen each other countless times, Qin Hongyu still dared not look for long, her heart pounding in her chest. *He’s so intimidating!* Her face flushed, turning as hot as if she had a fever.

Zhou Chen scooped Qin Hongyu up in his arms and strode into the bedroom.

*Rip.*

"Ah, the clothes are ruined..."

"Out with the old, in with the new. I’ll buy you new ones tomorrow!"

"You're hurting me..."

The night was hot, and the air was filled with the scent of spring.

A brilliant full moon hung high in the sky, casting a faint, pale radiance that draped the world in a holy, shimmering veil. Holding Qin Hongyu in his arms, feeling their warmth and perfect union, Zhou Chen let out a long, heavy sigh.

The cold, bizarre, and bone-deep sensation of those icy, corpse-like fingers tracing his spine had finally been dispelled.

*This world is truly, damnably dangerous!*

*Still, this warm little nest with Qin Hongyu is much more comfortable!*

*It’s comforting!*